OIC’S 2011 report on Islamophobia full of warnings for Europe

In the aftermath of the brutal twin terrorist attacks in Norway and amidst the trauma it has caused on a global scale, observatory reports released annually by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) reveal that the road leading to the tragedy was trailed in Europe much earlier, waving a flag of warning for the international community of the existing conflict and the probable dangers of “Islamophobia”, the term used to describe intolerance and discrimination against Muslims.

The latest OIC Islamophobia Observatory report documents the incidents from May 2010 through April 2011 and reveals the apparent signs of the murderous antagonism targeting Muslims and warns of the possibility of future events in the light of those in the past, specifically in European nations.

Citing a study published in Germany on intolerance and prejudice in Europe, titled: “Intolerance, Prejudice and Discrimination”, the report reveals that “In most of the countries a majority believe Islam to be a religion of intolerance, with agreement just below 50% only in Great Britain and the Netherlands.” The study strikingly shows that, despite their differences, Europeans are largely united in the reaction against Muslims and rejection of Islam.

Citing studies and polls on one side, the report also files various samples of the instances which fall short of the massacre in Norway, but still hint at the growing sense of self-righteousness in harming Muslims with an aim to drive the religion out of the continent. In one instance in Norway, where the massacre also took place, vandals desecrated a mosque in August, 2010, with spray-paint writings saying “oink” and “Allah is a [picture of a pig]”. The report explains that it was not the first time the mosque was vandalized and it was a habit for some to break the windows and spray-paint the mosque, members of which have had to suffer racist remarks in the six years they have been in the center of town, the report states.

In another 2010 Mosque attack, this time in the Netherlands, a dead sheep was found hanging in the place where a mosque was to be built. In a similar incident in Normandy, France, inscriptions reading “Islam get out of Europe”, “No to Islam and to burkas”, along with swastikas, were discovered on 15 July, 2010, which the report suggests might be encouraged by a law banning women from wearing the full-face Islamic veils in public, since the timing of the events coincide.